To See the Way You See
by tbf-bandit
Summary: Sokka asks Toph to teach him to see the way she sees.  Tokka one-shot for Valentine's Day!


_**To See the Way You See**_

**Sokka asks Toph to teach him to see the way she sees. My Tokka one-shot for Valentine's Day, hope you all enjoy! Thanks to all who review!**

"Again!" Sokka bellowed at his sparring partner. "Quit holding back, Toph!"

A large boulder whirled past his head as he quickly rolled to the right. The girl across from him stood with her feet planted firmly on the ground. Her arms were making quick movements as the earth below her rose and flung itself at Sokka. She smirked.

"You think this is me holding back? I'm just trying not to kill you, which I could." She said the last few words with a strain in her voice as she raised a circle of earthen pillars around Sokka, putting him in a make-shift cage. "If I killed you, I don't think Sugar Queen would like me much anymore." She clenched her fist and the pillars met at the top, forming a peak over the warriors head.

He swung his sword in a circle around him, slicing through the packed dirt and jumping out of the encasement before gravity took effect on the earth that hung for a moment above his head.

"Come on Toph you can do better than this! I can't be the best warrior in the world if you don't even try!" His words were purposefully instigative. He knew very well the girl could crush him without even breaking a sweat, but she was the only one that ever gave him a challenge.

"Now you've got it coming, Snoozles!" She began to run at him full speed. She jumped in the air and landed with a quaking crash on the ground behind him. Before he could react, the ground beneath his feet opened, sucking him downwards until he was neck deep in the ground. The sword flew from his hand into Toph's, who was now crouching next to him. She dug the sword down into the ground just inches from his nose.

"Damn it, Toph! You promised you wouldn't metal bend my sword away this time!" He sighed looking up her.

"Well, _you _promised not to whine. Telling me I wasn't giving you enough of a challenge was whining. I'm not going to spar with you anymore if you keep insisting I try to kill you."

She stood up, putting herself between the sun and his eyes. She had grown a lot in the last few years. As much as she still acted like a tom-boy she certainly didn't look like one. From the angle he was at, he could see her curves silhouetted from the sunlight behind her. Her blank eyes were hidden behind a cascade of unruly bangs, but he saw her smile.

"What are you smiling at? Let me out of here, you've proved your point!" He said trying as hard as he could to sound annoyed.

She thrust her heel towards the ground and Sokka shot into the air, landing hard a few feet away from Toph and his sword. The hole he was just in had closed up and Toph was laughing. He rubbed his butt trying to relieve the pain from the hard landing.

"What were you thinking about down there, Snoozles? Your heart beat sped up like crazy." She asked, still laughing.

He bent over and pulled his weapon out of the ground, trying to hide the blush that had formed on his cheeks. He knew she couldn't see it, but he was still embarrassed. He didn't want to tell her how gorgeous he thought she had become, he had no idea how she would react. But he was running out of excuses to why his heart beat quickly every time he noticed how attractive she was to him.

"Nothing." He said quickly. "I hate that you do that you know." He started walking back up to their apartment.

"Do what?" She asked, following closely behind him.

"You know, your stupid little magic heartbeat feeling powers. That isn't fair." He said looking back to her. She jumped forward a bit to catch up to him.

"It isn't something I can turn on and off, meat head. I've been seeing with my feet for so long, they're sensitive to every vibration." She punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Besides, you never tell me why, so it's the same as not feeling it in the first place."

He stopped moving for a moment and looked at her. She turned around and looked at him. "What's wrong, Snoozles? Did I hurt your feelings again?" She laughed.

"Teach me." He said simply.

"What?" She asked, sounding truly confused.

"Teach me." He repeated. "Teach me to feel the vibrations. To feel other people's heart beats. To see the way you see. I can't believe I've never thought of this before! I've spent all these years sparring with you, hoping you'd help me become a better fighter, but this is what I've been missing! Imagine how great I could be if I could feel my opponents every move, and the way his heart reacts to the fight!"

He had reached forward and grabbed her shoulders and was shaking her excitedly.

"Whoa there, killer." She said pulling his hands down from her shoulders. "I don't know if I can do that. You aren't an earth bender."

"Well, you certainly never miss a chance to make me feel less important, do you!" He scoffed, kicking the ground.

She laughed at his childish antics. "No, boomerang boy, I only say that because I've never taught that technique to someone that wasn't an earth bender! I've only ever considered it to be an extension of the skill, not as something that anyone can learn. I guess it's worth a try, but I don't want you to be upset if you can't get it. There is no way I'm putting up with anymore of your Sokka-mopey-time. It was bad enough after Su—"

She stopped herself midsentence when she felt his face turn into a scowl. "Oh I'm sorry!" He snapped at her. "I guess next time my girlfriend of two years cheats on me and then marries some random guy I'll be as perky as Momo on cactus juice about it!"

By the end of his sentence he was screaming at her. Only a few months had passed since he received a letter from Suki, saying she was leaving him for another man. Sokka hadn't left his room for weeks, only ever opening the door whenever Toph or his sister brought him meals.

"I'm sorry, Sokka, you know I didn't say that to be hurtful." He looked at her. Hearing both the apology and his name, absent a pet name, he knew she was sincere.

He let out a heavy sigh. "I know you didn't. It just still hurts to think about it."

"Well forget about her!" She said punching him in the arm again. "Let's see if I can figure out how to make you see properly."

"Uh…Toph? Do you think we could get some lunch first? I'm starving!"

She walked away rolling her eyes.

"Take your shoes off." Toph instructed pointing at Sokka's boots. He sat down on the rock behind him and did as she instructed. After they were off he wiggled his toes in the dirt as he had often seen Toph do before they had their sparring sessions.

She raised one eyebrow at him. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but what in Aang's name are you doing with your feet?"

"I'm coating my feet with earth-y goodness before we start! You do it! I'm just learning from the master. Observation is the key you know! It's what makes me such a great student and fighter!" He continued to roll his feet in the dirt.

"Snoozles, were you this obnoxious with your sword master? I hope he had ways of punishing you."

"Well…he had me paint a vista, and I added a rainbow. But I think he kind of liked it, even if he didn't admit it." He smiled proudly, thinking of his old trainer.

"There will be no painting in my lessons. I don't stand for any of that emotional crap Katara is always slinging around. The only thing I sling is rocks, and witty sarcasm. Now look at me so I can put this on you properly."

She walked towards him with a long piece of cloth. "You're going to blindfold me?" He exclaimed pointing at her hands.

"Duh! That's how Aang learned, that's how all my other students learn. Don't be a baby I won't let anything happen to you. Well nothing life threatening anyway." She kneeled in front of him and leaned forward. He closed his eyes as she pulled the soft fabric over his eyes. She was lightly pressed against him as she tied the blindfold behind his head. After it was securely knotted she pulled back from him and stared.

"You're doing it again…your heart. What is with you today?"

"Nothing!" He lied. Her body was not often that close to him without pain following. It felt nice, and he couldn't stop his mind from drifting to thoughts of her being much closer. "I'm just nervous about being alone with you blindfolded. Who knows what you'll do to me!" He stood up waving his arms around, feigning fear. "I can't see anything Toph! I'm scared! Save me!"

He expected a punch or a jeer at his immature behavior but neither came. Instead she had grabbed both of his hands with hers. She carefully led him a few steps forward. As they walked he couldn't stop thinking about how soft her hands felt, but they were gone as quickly as they came.

"Sheesh," he sighed. "I have no idea how you live this way! I feel so disoriented! I can't see anything." He was pouting purposefully in hopes that the cute pouty face wouldn't cause her to injure him for making a comment about her blindness.

Again, no pain came. This time, words.

"Ok Sokka, stand up straight, and spread your legs apart."

"Why, Toph, you're so forward! I normally make girls buy me a drink first before they talk that way to me!" He laughed at his own joke.

"Listen, if you aren't going to take this seriously, I'm done helping you." The tone in her voice wiped the smile from his face.

"Sorry. I'm ready _Sifu _Toph" He said with a hint of sarcasm as he bowed low. Once he stood back up he followed her instructions.

"Now what I'm going to do is raise chunks of earth from the ground. What you are going to do is listen and feel. You have no eyes anymore, so keep your head forward and just listen. You ears become much more sensitive when you lose your eyes. I also want you to concentrate on the movements in the ground below you. Using a combination of the both I want you to point where you think the earth is moving. I'll start with big chunks, and for each you get right I'll go smaller."

He nodded. They worked on this technique for a while. Toph was surprised that Sokka didn't complain about doing something more in depth or how long it was taking. He was diligent, and she could feel him working hard to do as she said. After a few hours, he was able to feel chunks the size of his fist moving a few hundred yards away, which was a lot better than Toph had expected him to do.

"I think that's enough for today, Sokka. It's getting late, and to be honest you've done loads better than Aang did on his first try. Then again, I wasn't throwing rocks at you, I was just throwing them in the air."

She began to walk towards him but when he spoke she froze. "I feel you!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. "Wow, I can actually feel your footsteps! I mean, I can't _see _you exactly but, wow I can actually feel you. This is so cool!"

She laughed at his over excitement and continued to close the distance between them. When she was close enough she stood on her tip-toes and began to un-tie the blindfold. She pulled it down slowly, and he kept his eyes closed to hide from the light.

After a few moments, he slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times as he adjusted to the sunlight. He looked down to find Toph still standing close to him, holding the blindfold. Before he could ask her what was wrong she spoke quietly, "Sometimes I wish I could take off my blindfold."

He frowned, not knowing what to say. He pulled the fabric from her hands and let it fall to the ground. Wrapping one arm around her waist, and the other around her head he pulled her close into a tight hug, resting his chin on her head. He held her for a moment and then said, "You know Toph, I think I'd rather be blind, and see people for who they are than live the way everyone else does. You are so special, even though I hate that you can read me like a book." She scoffed into his shoulder. "Okay, I know. That was a bad analogy but still, you know what I mean."

He pulled away from her slightly and looked down at her. He tilted her chin up with his fingers to look into her pale eyes. "Let's face it, you know exactly what I'm thinking when you feel my heart start to race. You know exactly what I'm thinking, but both of us are too stubborn to admit it."

She looked back down, blushing furiously, but said nothing.

"Toph you're an amazing bender, you're an amazing teacher, and best of all you're an amazing friend. I wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for you, and I mean that in more ways than one."

She began to pull away from him. "Sokka, why are you saying these things to me?"

"Because Toph, you taught me to see you the way that you see me." He whispered, pulling her back close to him, this time pressing his lips to hers. His heart was pounding in his ears as they kissed softly and he knew that was why she was smiling against his kiss.

He leaned forward, grabbing her legs and pulling her up off the ground. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. Their lips lost contact and he whispered to her, "Now you have to feel my heart without your feet, like a normal girl."

She laughed softly. "Would you want me if I was normal?"

He smiled brightly and kissed her again, this time he was the one enjoying the sound of _her_ heartbeats.

_**Hope you all enjoyed :D Thanks for reading!**_


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